


Blood and Ashes

by orphan_account



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Best Friends, Brotherly Love, Friendship, Gen, Kidnapping, Love, Orcs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-12 02:50:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7081909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The worst of nightmares has come true for Frodo and Sam. Discovered and kidnapped by orcs in Mordor, Sam and Frodo now begin a desperate battle for their lives, each trying to save the other. But Sauron and the orcs have different plans, and now the hobbits are trapped in a tower of enemies, who want nothing more than to bring the Ring in triumph to their master and feast on hobbit as a bonus. Told from Sam's point of view, this story will ruin your life and break your soul. No slash. Pretty gory at some parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Imprisoned

**Author's Note:**

> They have already been kidnapped at the start of this chapter. Read and review!

 I watch helplessly as they fling Frodo to the ground, two of them holding me back, one gagging me so I can't cry out to him. Frodo is sobbing, pleading for his life. He doesn't realize what I already have - they won't kill him. They'll only torment him until Sauron is done with him.  
Now one of them draws a sword and slits Frodo's shirt open with it, leaving a thin line of blood on his stomach. Frodo cries out. Then the orcs tears the shirt away and murmurs, "Well, well," and I know they've found the Ring.  
"NO!" Frodo screams. The Ring sends him into an attacking mode, and he rakes his nails down the orc's face. The orc snarls, but Frodo keeps screaming, lashing at him. Two more hold him down by his arms as the third rips the Ring off of his neck, exposing the hideous scars the chain left on his throat. They begin to trickle with blood. Instantly the fight goes out of Frodo, and he falls limp again.  
"Think you're funny, do you?" snarls the orc with nail marks on his face. "Well, I'll show you!"  
"No!" I cry, but the gag stops my words. And before I can cry out again, the orc tears three cuts down Frodo's face.  
Frodo starts to scream, as the orcs pass the Ring from hand to hand. One pulls out a whip and beats him with it. They tear at his hair, his skin, and his clothes, before the leader orders them back.  
"It has such soft skin," says one orc, licking his lips. "I bet it'll be delicious!"  
"No eating till Sauron says," the leader snarls.  
"Just a little taste?" asks an orc, looking at Frodo's arm like he's just dying to take a bite.  
"Leave him alone, you monsters!" I plead, but they can't hear me through the gag.  
"Well..." the leader sighs. "Alright. But just the tiniest little mouthful."  
Frodo is sobbing now, tears pouring down his cheeks, his body all curled up in a defensive pose, his hands raised to take any blow. Every inch of my soul aches for him, and I long to run to him and hold him close, and kiss those tears from his face. But I can't move. "Please," Frodo weeps. I'll do anything you want, anything, anything..."  
"Oh? Well, we want you dead on a platter. Now lie still!" The orc sinks his fangs into Frodo's arm. My brother screams, and the sound tears through the air, wrenching my heart. Another orc slaps Frodo across his mouth to try to silence him. Finally the orc lets Frodo go and licks away the drops of blood running down his black lips. Then they all back up. It's over.  
My captors throw me forward. I fall on the floor, and now that my hands are free, untie the gag and run to Frodo's side. He's curled up, sobbing into his injured arms. I lift him and lay his head in my lap, and spread my cloak over his damaged, ruined body. He looks up at me.  
"Sam..." he breathes through bleeding, chapped lips.  
"Shhhhh." I stroke his hair. "It's alright, darlin', it's alright. I'm here."  
"Did they hurt... you too?"  
"No, love, they didn't. Don't worry."  
He sighs, relieved, and reaches up to place a hand over my heart. I cover the hand with my own, press it to my lips, then back against my chest.  
"Awww," I hear all the orcs mock. The leader steps forward.  
"There, now, darling," he mocks. "It's okay. Shhhh, shhh."  
I could kill him, if I had my sword. I could kill every one of them. I could protect Frodo, rather than offer him pitiful, poor excuses for comfort.  
At least... I can try to get him somewhere away from all of them.  
"I want a room," I say to the leader, my voice shaking slightly.  
"Oh, of course. And two feather beds and meals," he mocks.  
"Just one bed will be fine."  
They all roar with laughter.  
"Well!" the leader says. "Looks like we've caught ourselves a fighter, boys." He bends, puts his face an inch from mine. "A few moments ago, you had as much worth to us as those bones in the corner," he says, gesturing. I decide not to follow his pointing finger. "But now that this one's revealed he cares for you?" He nods at Frodo. "Now you're priceless." He bends closer. I can feel his foul breath on my face. "Because we can use you to break him."  
He stands up.  
My voice trembles when I speak again. "I want... the t-two of us... t-to be alone. An-and I want f-food and wa-wat-ter for him." I draw a breath. "A-and i-f you won't do as I say.... then I wo-won't do what you want. I wo-won't cooperate when you want me to b-break h-him, o-or whatever you want me to-to do."  
The orc eyes me, then laughs. "Very well. Follow me."  
I wrap the cloak tighter around the unconscious Frodo, and then lift him into my arms, putting one of my hands behind his knees, and the other across his shoulders. His head settles against my chest, and I bend down enough to kiss his forehead. The metallic taste of his blood fills my mouth. "It'll be alright, dearest," I whisper, and then follow the orc leader from the room.


	2. The Cell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Frodo are thrown into a cell together and ponder the horrible future... or what little remains of it. Cute cuddly hobbits. :) I am so mean to them.

I carry Frodo down the hall. In my arms he's limp and weightless, far thinner than he should be. I brush another kiss on his brow, keeping my touch soft so I don't wake him. "We're almost there, Frodo," I whisper. "Then you can lie down."  
The orc leader looks over his shoulder to make sure I'm still behind him. "This way," he growls gruffly, leading me down a dark, dank stairwell. He snatches a key ring off of a peg and continues down the stairwell. The stone walls are slimy and some of the steps are stained red. I shudder, glad Frodo is not awake to see this. A scream fills the air, and I guess that the torture chamber is at the bottom of this stairwell. Is that where we're going?  
"Where are you taking us?" I ask.  
The orc stops on a hallway leading off the stairwell and leads me into it, and I'm briefly relieved. He unlocks a door at the end of the hallway, and when I go in, carrying Frodo, it's so dark I can't even see, until the chieftain lights a red lamp in the middle of the room. I gasp slightly. The walls are cold stone, as is the floor. There is a bloodstain and chains in a corner. In the middle of the room is a straw pallet that would barely fit one of us, let alone both of us. There's no food or water, but there is a rathole near the door. This is not a room. It's a cell.  
"Well, there you are," the chieftain says, leering at me. "Here's your room, and I hope it's satisfactory? If not, I've a quite comfortable bed of nails your friend can use instead."  
My heart jumps at the thought of Frodo on a bed of nails. "This is fine," I say, lying through my teeth.  
The chieftain smirks. "Well, lovely," he says. "I'll be going, then."  
"Wait!" I cry, maybe a little too desperately.   
He turns.  
"Y-you said he might have food and water."  
"Oh, so I did." He laughs wickedly. "Well, I'd best go find some, eh?" He leaves, locking the door behind him.  
I look down at Frodo, his lovely head still cradled against my breast, his eyes closed. His face is still filthy with blood and dirt from Mordor. The wounds on his neck trickle with blood from where the Ring was torn away. I stroke his cheek gently. I love him so much, and soon I am to watch him die in whatever way they arrange for him. I can feel his breath against my neck, his heartbeat in the same rhythm as mine, his warm blood soaking through my shirt and tunic...  
The door bangs open, and I jump. The chieftain is back. He throws a large skin of water (at least, I hope it's water) onto the floor, and chucks a loaf of bread at me. I catch it. He frowns, obviously hoping it would land on the dirty floor. He watches as I set Frodo down tenderly on the straw pallet, and kiss him softly in the space between his eyes. I stand up and collect the water skin, and place in in the corner with the bread on top so it won't get dirty. "Thank you," I say.  
The chieftain shrugs, amused. "So," he asks. He points from me to Frodo. "What's going on between you two, anyway?"  
"Excuse me?"   
He waves a hand at us. "I mean, are you in the same army? Friends?" He smirks. "More than friends?"  
"We're brothers," I explain coolly, annoyed by all the untrue things his comment implied. "That's more than friends."  
He laughs and sweeps out the door, slamming it behind him.  
I go to Frodo and kneel beside him. He's awake again. "Are you alright?" I ask gently.   
"I'm... well, no... not fine." He smiles, reaches up to touch my cheek.   
"You're shivering," I say. I take off my shirt and give it to him, keeping the tunic underneath for myself. He pulls my shirt on and smiles.  
"Thank you... S-sam."  
"You're welcome, darling. I didn't do much anyway." I smile back. "Come on, let's try to make this place decently livable. It's all we've got."

Working together, we get the cell cleaned up, or at least clean enough to live in. We block the rat hole with the chains on the floor, cover the bloodstain with the straw pallet, and wrap the bread in one of the sleeves I tear off my tunic. I tear off the other sleeve and tie it loosely around Frodo's throat to soak up some of the blood. We put the water skin on top of the bread. I fold my cloak an put it on the end of the pallet, so Frodo can use it for a blanket when he goes to sleep. I set the food beside his "bed", and the room is as clean as we can make it.   
When it's done Frodo looks at me, and I look at him. He collapses forward into my arms, buries his face in my chest, and starts to cry. I stroke his hair and kiss the top of his head.   
"I love you," he whispers through his tears.  
"I love you, too."

Finally Frodo lets me go. I hold him out by his shoulders and cup his chin in my hand. "How could they do this to you?" I murmur, running my thumb along his jawbone. He shrugs, sighs, and then yawns.   
"I could really use some sleep," he murmurs.   
"You can sleep if you want, but you should eat some of this bread," I say, but already he's wriggled away from me and curled up on the pallet. I sigh, unwrap the bread and look at it. We've been cheated again - the bread is moldy and stale. I tear the mold pieces off and toss them until I get them into the hanging lamp. Then I sit down on the end of the pallet, lift Frodo gently, and pull him into my lap, letting him lean on me. He opens his eyes.  
"You hungry?" I ask, tearing off a chunk of the bread. He reaches for it, but his hands are trembling, and when I give it to him, he drops it. I pick it up and give it to him again, and again it falls to the ground. He sighs and reaches to take a different piece, but I catch his hands, bestow a kiss on each, and set them down by his side. I place the piece of bread between his lips, and when he finishes chewing, I give him another. I let him make a large dent in the loaf, though well surely regret that soon, and then I set the water skin between his teeth and let him take a long drink. When he's finally done, I kiss the top of his head.  
"And now you should get some sleep."  
"What about you?" he asks.  
I shrug. "Doesn't matter. I can just lie on the floor."  
Frodo shakes his head. "No, Sam," he whispers. "I want to sleep in your arms tonight. It might sound foolish, but... I'm scared. You comfort me." He lifts his tearstained eyes. "Please?"  
"Alright."I lay down on the pallet. He curls up, head and torso across my chest, legs between mine and the wall. His ankles tangle against mine, and he embraces me as he settles down into the hollow of my chest. I wrap my arms around him, caress his back, stroke his hair, kiss his brow. I don't know what the future will bring. I don't even know if we'll be alive tomorrow to sleep in this same room. But for now, we need it, and we need each other.  
I grab my cloak and spread it over both of us for a blanket. Frodo's sound asleep on my heart. I think over what the morning may bring with it, then finally decide it's not worth worrying, and kiss Frodo softly on his forehead. He tastes like blood and ashes. I pull my lips away from his skin, startled. It is only then that I realize we are becoming tarnished by both. 


	3. Tarnished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frodo and Sam are led to a torture chamber.

I hear the door creak open.  
The lamp has burned out, but it's obvious who has come in - the orc chieftain. I wrap my arms tighter around Frodo's shoulders. In his sleep, he settles deeper into my chest, and his arm curves around my neck.  
"No matter what happens today," I whisper, "I love you, Frodo, and I won't let them hurt you."  
"Shame you'll have to go back on that promise."  
I lift my head, and there's the chieftain, leering down at us. "Ready for some fun?" he asks. He lashes a whip across my leg. "Wake him up."  
I smooth the hair on Frodo's brow and kiss his cheek. I don't want to wake him up to whatever horror awaits us. I want to hold him and keep him safe. The chieftain glares at both of us, so finally I whisper gently into his ear, "Frodo? You have to wake up now."  
He stirs slightly, but doesn't open his eyes. "Where are we, Sam?" he mumbles.  
My eyes fill with tears. "Y-you're in my arms, dearest. It's alright. Open your eyes."  
He obeys, and seeing me, smiles. Then he looks around and the light fades from his face. The chieftain smirks.  
"Get up," he says, flashing the whip at us. "Now. Come on."  
I untangle my arms from Frodo's and help him to his feet. He shivers slightly. I wrap my arm around him and give him a gentle kiss on his forehead. He lays his head on my shoulder and closes his eyes.  
"Let him go," says the orc.  
I glare at him. "Why?"  
"Because I say so. Let him go and follow me."  
When I don't do so, the orc marches up, pulls us apart, and slaps Frodo hard across the face. He cries out, and at once I'm upon the orc, pounding my fists into him in rage. "You monster!" I shout. "Leave him alone!"  
The orc pushes me off of him and whips me again and again until I'm screaming.  
"Sam!" Frodo sobs.  
The orc whips his head around and glares at Frodo. "You want him to get it?"  
"N-n-no," Frodo whispers, his voice quavering.  
"Then DO AS I SAY!" The orc whips me one last time and hauls me up. "Now MARCH!" He points the butt of the whip at our backs. We start off. Frodo looks at me, and words pass between us just from that gaze. He does a very dangerous thing and touches my shoulder, but luckily, the chieftain doesn't seem to see.  
"Left," he barks. We turn onto the staircase and start down. I'm stumbling. Ragged pieces of fabric and flesh hang from my back. My tunic is stained with blood. Frodo is crying as we walk.   
"Right," barks the orc behind us. "No, you maggots, not that one!" He shoves past us. "Follow me."  
He leads us through the corridors. Now that his back is turned, Frodo slips his hand into mine and kisses the side of my head. His fingers squeeze mine tightly. His eyes whisper that he loves me. His touch promises my safety. I love him. I love him, I love him, I love him, and my heart is shattering as I think of what will come in only a few minutes. I want to promise that it will be alright, but I have already broken such a promise. It is not alright. It will not be. Frodo lays his head on my shoulder again. I squeeze him around his waist and hug him for a moment, before I let go and follow the orc again.  
The chieftain pauses at the bottom of the stairwell, at the end of a corridor. There is a hideous door before us, black iron stained with orcs blood. The doorknob is a skull. Frodo gasps softly. The orc grins and opens the door.  
I look into this room, shocked. Frodo screams and hides his face in my neck, instantly soaking me with tears. I can barely hold them in myself. The orc sees our horror and starts to laugh.   
All I can think as I look at this is, _in two minutes that will be me._


End file.
